Beschreibung:

A Coalbrookdale 'Serpent and Grapes' pattern cast iron garden seat, grey and white painted, with timber slatts, the ends cast with dog head armrests above entwining serpent supports h:77 w:158 d:66 cm Literature: A Coalbrookdale 'Serpent and Grapes' pattern cast (design no 17597) is number 9 in the Coalbrookdale 1875 Castings catalogue, section 111, page 249 The Coalbrookdale Company was founded in 1709 in the village of Coalbrook. By the 1750s it was the largest iron casting company in the country. From building the world's first cast iron bridge to pots, pans, drainpipes and of course garden furniture, by the Great Exhibition of 1851 it was employing over 3,000 men and producing 2,000 tons of cast iron a week. In 1849, the company was awarded a gold medal at the Society of Arts for its casting designs. Most of the garden furniture was made between 1850 and 1900. The company produced an extensive range of garden seats and tables which remain very popular today. The 1875 catalogue noted, "The increasing use of iron garden seats has led to the introduction of a number of new designs. For this country wooden seats are generally preferred to iron, and are more suitable, and in most of the newer patterns the staves are fitted in an iron frame, thus forming the entire seat…." The Serpent and Grape design was the second oldest design registered in the Public Record Office in 1844. The 1875 catalogue offered the seat from 3ft to 10ft long and in permutations of painted or bronze finish, oak or iron seat and back. The condition is considered to be good, weathered paint and iron work